Circles of Confusion

kier · Apr 29, 2015

One of the challenges of pinhole photography is choosing the film size and subject matter so that you get the detail you need to achieve your vision. Sometimes that vision requires no detail, while at other times it requires just the right amount. In my blog post today I explore how circles of confusion in pinhole photography impacts that decision making process and the final visual result.

http://fslashd.com/2015/04/circles-of-confusion/

Did I help you out? Let me know why or why not.

wy2l · Apr 29, 2015

Thanks. Sometimes I get confused about the Circle of Confusion.

kier · Apr 29, 2015

Glad to be of assistance!

SMBooth · May 4, 2015

Nicely written, simple to understand

kier · May 5, 2015

Thanks Shane - glad you enjoyed it!

ciniframe · May 5, 2015

Very nicely done. For years my knowledge of pinhole has been for the most part empirical, or I have seen results from someone else that I liked and copied those specifications. It is good to understand the basic principals as they can be applied over a range of applications.

DWThomas · May 5, 2015

Thanks, a nice summation. When I first saw the title of this thread my weird brain said "sure, I travel in circles of confusion all the time!"

You addressed one thing that popped up in a thread here several years ago where we discussed that the foreground details seemed sharper than the background details. I think we wound up with understanding it as you describe it, but you got there in far more efficient fashion!

kier · May 5, 2015

Thanks guys! So glad to contribute!

thuggins · May 7, 2015

That is an interesting write-up with some good information. But the various references to a DSLR really confuse the point. No matter how good your lens is or how small the CoC, the resolving ability of any digital medium will always be limited by the pixel size. If you remove those references the article would be less confusing and more accurate.

kier · May 7, 2015

Thanks for the feedback Tim! Although, I'm not sure how pixel size factors into it. The only reason I was referencing DSLR's is because it's a glass lens camera system that is well relatable. The analogy would be equally appropriate with a 35mm or medium format film camera because the point I was driving at wasn't the light sensing material, but rather the resolving capabilities of a lens compared to lensless. If I were to try and add sensor capabilities to the discussion, we'd be in a rabbit hole conversation of pixel pitch, embedded lensing systems, and in-camera sharpening algorithms all compared to film grain density (which would be further complicated by film speed).

The point isn't an examination of the sharpest possible resolution by a glass lens. The point is to surface an understanding of why, exactly, there is softness in pinhole and how to leverage that softness to your creative will.

Does that help?

Circles of Confusion

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